1 LOCATION AND SIZE

Kazakhstan lies in the center of western Asia, with a small part of the
northwestern corner of the country in Europe. At 2,717,300 square
kilometers (1,049,149 square miles), it is the world's
seventh-largest country, the largest country in Central Asia, and the
second largest of the former Soviet republics, surpassed only by Russia.
Both the Caspian and the Aral Seas—actually inland bodies of
water despite their names—are situated partially within
Kazakhstan.

2 TERRITORIES AND DEPENDENCIES

Kazakhstan has no territories or dependencies.

3 CLIMATE

The climate of Kazakhstan, which is located thousands of miles from the
ocean, is extremely continental, with cold winters and hot summers.
Temperatures also vary greatly by region. Average January temperatures
are -3°C (-2°F) in the north and 18°C (25°F) in the
south; July temperatures average 19°C (66°F) in the north and
range from 28° to 30°C (66° to 79°F) in the south.
Temperature extremes can reach much higher or lower than these averages,
however. In the winter they may fall below -45°C (-49°F), and
in summer they can reach 45°C (113°F). Strong, cold northern
winds make winters in the steppes especially harsh.

Generally, very little precipitation falls in Kazakhstan; roughly
three-quarters of the country is considered arid or semi-arid. Annual
precipitation ranges from less than 10 centimeters (4 inches) in the
south-central desert regions to between 25 and 35 centimeters (10 and 14
inches) on the steppes, where flash floods are common after summer
thunderstorms. In the mountains, yearly precipitation (largely in the
form of snow) averages 150 centimeters (60 inches). The sun shines a
great deal in Kazakhstan; on average, the country experiences 260 sunny
days in the south and 120 sunny days in the north.

4 TOPOGRAPHIC REGIONS

Topography varies greatly across this vast, landlocked country. There
are three mountainous regions: the Altay Shan in the northeast, the Tian
Shan in the southeast, and the southernmost of the Ural Mountains in the
northwest. Between these widely separated mountain ranges are vast
stretches of desert and steppe, a harsh terrain of bare rock and sand
dunes. Most of Kazakhstan (about 75 percent) is desert, semi-desert, or
steppe (arid grassy plains).

5 OCEANS AND SEAS

The Aral Sea is really a very large saltwater lake that lies across the
border of southwestern Kazakhstan and northwestern Uzbekistan. Located
east of the much larger Caspian Sea, the Aral is surrounded by deserts
and has no outlets to other bodies of water. This inland lake, which was
once the fourth-largest in the world, has been steadily shrinking over
the last several decades, as water from the rivers that feed into it is
diverted for crop irrigation. Since 1988, the drop in sea level has
caused the Aral Sea to divide into two distinct bodies of water.

Nearly half of Kazakhstan's western border is on the Caspian Sea.
Like the Aral Sea to its east, the Caspian is landlocked; it has no
outlet to other seas, lakes, or oceans. While this means that it could
technically be considered a lake, it is rarely treated as such because
of its salty waters and vast size. The Caspian Sea is the world's
largest landlocked body of water. It covers approximately 371,000 square
kilometers (143,000 square miles) and has a mean depth of about 170
meters (550 feet).

Seacoast and Undersea Features

For unknown reasons, water levels have been rising steadily in the
Caspian Sea since the late 1970s. Millions of acres of land north of the
sea have been flooded.

Coastal Features

Kazakhstan's shoreline on the Caspian Sea runs for 1,894
kilometers (1,174 miles). Irregular in shape, the coast juts deeply into
the country at its northern end. Farther to the south are two deep
indentations in the shoreline, and the Mangyshlak Peninsula juts
northwest into the water.

6 INLAND LAKES

In southeastern Kazakhstan lies Lake Balkhash, an inland lake that is
partially fresh and partially saline from the salts that leech into its
waters from the land. The lake—which forms a long, narrow
arc—actually consists of two parts separated by the narrow
Uzun-Aral Strait. The largest lake in the country, it covers a total
area of some 18,200 square kilometers (7,030 square miles) and is fed
principally by the Ili River, which enters near the lake's
southern tip. Kazakhstan has three other significant lakes. Lakes
Alakol' and Tengiz are both salt lakes. In the far northeast,
near the border with China, lies freshwater Lake Zaysan.

7 RIVERS AND WATERFALLS

Although many of Kazakhstan's rivers and streams, as well as its
lakes, evaporate in summer, it does have some permanent rivers of major
economic and geographic significance. The Tobol and Ishim Rivers
originate in north-central Kazakhstan and flow northward into Russia,
where they join other rivers and eventually reach the ocean. The Irtysh
River enters the country from China and flows west through Lake Zaysan,
then curves northwest into Russia. The longest river to pass through
Kazakhstan, and among the largest rivers in
Asia, the Irtysh flows for 4,441 kilometers (2,760 miles) before
emptying into the Ob' River in Russia, which eventually leads to
the Arctic Ocean. It is navigable for most of its length in Kazakhstan,
and many cities are located nearby.

Other than these three rivers of northeastern Kazakhstan, all of the
country's rivers and streams are landlocked. In southeastern
Kazakhstan, the Ili River flows westerly about 1,287 kilometers (800
miles) from its headwaters in China through the city of Qapshaghay and
northwest into Lake Balkhash. With origins in Uzbekistan, the Syr Darya,
one of the major rivers of Central Asia, flows northwest through
Kazakhstan into the Aral Sea. It is 2,200 kilometers (1,370 miles) in
total length. The Ural River flows from the Ural Mountains in southern
Russia into northwestern Kazakh-stan. It runs south through the town of
Oral into the Caspian Sea.

8 DESERTS

The largest deserts, the Kyzyl Kum and the Betpaqdala, are located in
the south. Only a few scrub plants grow in these areas. The Greater
Barsuki Desert lies northwest of the Aral Sea.

9 FLAT AND ROLLING TERRAIN

Kazakhstan's terrain dips down to form numerous great basins and
depressions. Some are filled with water, forming the country's
lakes and seas. Others are dry. The Caspian Depression is a vast lowland
extending between Kazakhstan and Russia. Located in both Europe and
Asia, it has some of the lowest elevations to be found on either
continent. Lying north of the Caspian Sea, the depression covers roughly
200 square kilometers (75 square miles). Located entirely within
Kazakhstan, the Karagiye Depression lies in the extreme southwest, east
of the Caspian Sea. This is the site of Kazakhstan's lowest
elevation, 132 meters (433 feet) below sea level.

Roughly 10 percent of Kazakhstan consists of prairie grassland areas
located in the Ural River basin in the north and west of the country. An
estimated 60 percent of the nation's original pastureland has
been desertified by wind erosion that resulted from the Soviet
introduction of large-scale wheat farming during the 1950s and 1960s.

10 MOUNTAINS AND VOLCANOES

In the southeast of Kazakhstan, extending across the borders with
Kyrgyzstan and China, are the rugged Tian Shan. These are one of Central
Asia's major mountain systems. The Tian Shan cover an area of
roughly 1,036,000 square kilometers (400,000 square miles), which makes
them comparable in size to the North American Rocky Mountains. The chain
is some 2,414 kilometers (1,500 miles) in length and 320 to 480
kilometers (200 to 300 miles) in width. There are many high peaks in the
Tian Shan; in fact, Kazakhstan's tallest mountain, Khan Tangiri
Shyngy (Mount Tengri; 6,398 meters/20,991 feet), can be found here. The
Altay Mountains enter the country in its northeastern corner. With
impressive peaks that exceed 4,572 meters (15,000 feet), most of this
range lies in Russia and China.

The Urals are a large mountain chain stretching all the way across
Russia from the Arctic Ocean and into northwestern Kazakhstan for
approximately 2,400 kilometers (1,500 miles). These mountains, along
with the Ural River, form the physical boundary between the continents
of Europe and Asia. In Kazakhstan, they run in three parallel chains.
The easternmost range is particularly low, with peaks reaching about 670
to 850 meters (2,200 to 2,800 feet). Moving west, the other two chains
are higher, reaching up to 1,594 meters (5,230 feet).

11 CANYONS AND CAVES

Southeast Kazakhstan's rugged Tian Shan Mountains contain several
dramatic gorges, including the gorge of the Big Almaty Lake, the Ozyomy
and Prokhodnoi Gorges, and the Turgen Gorge, known for its seven
waterfalls. With walls that rise from 150 to 300 meters (492 to 984
feet), the Charyn Canyon in the northern Tian Shan has been compared to
the Grand Canyon in the United States. In addition to its size, Charyn
Canyon is known for its unusually shaped caves and grottoes. The
Aleksandrov Caves in western Kazakhstan are also a significant natural
feature.

12 PLATEAUS AND MONOLITHS

There are many elevated but relatively flat areas in central and western
Kazakhstan. South and east of the Karagiye Depression is the Ustyurt
(Ust Urt) Plateau, an elevated region separating the Caspian and Aral
Seas. Further east, beyond the Aral Sea, is the Turan Steppe, a vast
region of plateaus and desert that extends south into Uzbekistan and
Turkmenistan.

13 MAN-MADE FEATURES

The Irtysh-Qaraghandy Canal, located in the uplands of central
Kazakhstan, was the largest water-diversion project (by volume) in the
former Soviet Union. The canal supplies water for recreational,
agricultural, industrial, and other uses. A dam located nearby has
restricted the flow of water from the Ili River to Lake Balkhash by
about a third.

Crop irrigation projects have heavily diverted the waters of the two
principal rivers that feed into the Aral Sea: the Amu Darya in the south
(in Uzbekistan) and the Syr Darya in the east (in Kazakhstan). This
water diversion has significantly reduced the size of the Aral Sea and
caused many other negative environmental changes.